It sounds like you guys have been keeping up with the main Avatar Land discussion thread, so you're probably already well versed in my staunch anti-Avatar Land stance, so I'm going to try to keep this brief. I agree with what you said, that Imagineering typically does excellent work and that they, at least, deserve the benefit of the doubt (there have been a few failures, Superstar Limo and Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management spring immediately to mind, but over all they have a fairly spotless track record). If WDI came up with a really unique concept for an Avatar ride I think it could stand the test of time and end up outliving the popularity of its source material (I don't expect Avatar to remain a culturally relevant property beyond the end of the decade, with or without sequels). For instance, The Twilight Zone was not exactly a hot property when Tower of Terror was built, but the attraction has gone on to become a classic in its own right and has likely done more to raise interest in the great, but mostly forgotten show than anything else since Twilight Zone: The Movie tanked. However, the idea of a Twilight Zone Land would be absurd because it would be seen as creatively limiting and dated.
Similarly, the idea of Avatar Land is just downright terrible. You're dedicating a large amount of space to a property that's already seen a fairly substantial drop off in cultural relevance after only two years, not only that but your limiting that whole space to revolve around ideas based on a property devoid of interesting characters or stories. Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a natural choice for a theme park land because there's so many memorable locations and ideas that could be easily adapted into a theme park; you could go to The Three Broomsticks for a butter beer and some food, shop around Diagon Alley or Hogsmead, you could head to the Quidditch Pitch for either a show or some kind of attraction, visit Hagrid's Hut and the Great Forest, and, of course, Hogwarts Castle itself. On the other hand, Avatar really doesn't have a lot of specific memorable locations that could be recreated in a theme park setting. Oh yes, Pandora was a neat creation, and visually beautiful, but it didn't have a lot of specific landmarks. Essentially you have the tree of souls and the human research/mining facility, neither of which exactly lend themselves to shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Even Radiator Springs has more memorable landmarks to recreate in a theme park environment than Avatar does.
Oh dear, I've ranted for a lot longer than I wanted to. Please don't read this whole post on the show because it'll eat up all of your listener feedback time. Instead I'll try to summarize my points in a neat little paragraph for you to read on the show and if people care enough about the long form version of my thoughts you can send them here
I just don't see Avatar Land having the longevity or creative potential necessary to sustain a theme park land. If Disney had made the deal with Cameron to include one Avatar ride as the flagship attraction of Beastly Kingdom 2.0 I could get really excited for this, but an entire Avatar Land seems like a major waste of money, space, and the Imagineering's talent. I seriously hope Disney scales back their plans on this one because the less space that it occupies is less space they'll be forced to re-theme 10 years down the road. So on a scale of 1-10 how excited I am/how much I approve, I'd say a 2 at best; if you were asking the same question regarding a single Avatar attraction I'd give it a cautiously optimistic 8/10. Avatar Land just reeks of a knee-jerk reaction from Disney and knee-jerk reactions almost never end up being good in the long run.
Bookmarks